About El Marco de Jerez

El Marco de Jerez is the primary vineyard area of the sherry growing region of Spain . The region lies in the southwestern corner of Spain in the province of Cadiz. It is bounded in the north by the Guadalquivir river and in the south the Guadalete.

Production is controlled by the Consejo Regulador, strictly limiting production of sherry wine to Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa Maria and Sanlúcar de Barrameda – known as the Sherry Triangle.

It is an area we have been visiting for many years and from which our passion for sherry initially grew . From there our research developed to discover many other products that have developed over the years that match perfectly the sherry produced in the region.

Vineyards

The vineyards of the sherry region are divided into numerous parcels , called Pagos, varying in size from 1.25 to 2,000 acres , these were first documented some 2000 years ago

Terroir

The main soil types for grape growing in the region are Albariza , Barros and Arenas . The majority of sherry producing grapes are grown in Albariza soils

Tradition And Nature

Most harvesting is now undertaken using modern machinery and techniques , however ageing is still carried out using the traditional Solera systems

The Sherry Region

Grape varieties

98% percent of sherries are made exclusively from the Palomino grape , the exception being Pedro Ximenez being from from sun dried Pedro Ximenez grapes

Fractional Blending

Sherry wines of different ages are stored in series of barrels called scales , wine for bottling is withdrawn from the oldest , this being replenished with an equivalent amount from other scales known as criaderas – this blending is known as the solera system